Help..Question about feeding

[MadTurtle]

So I got my python 8 days ago..He is 300 grams.. I tried F/T and he wasn't interested..I just put an adult mouse in there and he killed it..I took his hide off of him when I fed him, and it only took about 1 minute for him to kill the mouse. Now he is just laying near the mouse but hasn't begun to swallow him yet..It had been about 30 minutes.. I left the room after he killed it to give him some privacy but he hasn't ate it yet.. Did I mess up by taking his hide away?Should I place the hide back over him? I don't want to spook him.. What should I do? He has moved the mouse around,just not swallowing it..

[Lizardlicks]

if he's moving the mouse around it usually due to trying to position it to swallow OR he's nervous and trying to drag it somewhere more private. I have one snake (Eclair) that will "kill" her F/T rat then sit over it glaring at the other snakes in their tubs... who also already have their own rats and don't want anything to do with hers lol. Sometimes takes her half an hour or more to get it started.

Give him more time. If he doesn't eat, you will know to not muck with the hide while feeding.

[MadTurtle]

So he looks like he wants to eat it but it got really dirty after he killed it.. Covered with the coconut husk bedding that I use.. He kept grabbing the mouse by his dirty head and then letting it go.. Looks like he didn't like it covered in the bedding.. I don't blame him..and then letting it go.. I removed the mouse, washed it off, put his hide back in and left the mouse in there.. that's the advice my breeder gave me..

[Zincubus]

I'd try FT again next time , in a week or so ..
May I ask how you went about feeding FT before ..

Edit


No matter ...
As regards feeding FT - this method WORKS if done properly ...
I wait until evening as they're nocturnal of course . I let the rodent thaw out in the reptile room so they get the smell ..
Then I warm up the mouse / rat with a hairdryer and offer with tongs IMMEDIATELY whilst still warm . If refused simply repeat the heating and offering as many times as needed. .
A couple of mine will only strike feed from within their hides so I dangle the warm rodent in front of the hide's entrance - usually works but if it fails simply reheat the rodent with a hairdryer and immediately offer again whilst it's still warm , continue until it's grabbed ...
I always wait until evenings to feed as they're nocturnal of course .

Incidentally , if it shows no interest at all not even a tongue flicker maybe it's best to leave for a week or so.

[MadTurtle]

Previously I had tried F/T by thawing the mouse in its plastic bag in warm water..I then warmed it with a hairdryer and offered it to him while he was out of his hide in the evening and active.. he simply flicked his tongue and then went back into his hide so I didn't push it.. maybe I should have tried more but since I had only had him for a few days I figured that maybe he just wasn't ready.. What do you think about me trying again tomorrow, with a live one, but leaving his hide in place? It seemed to me that after he killed the mouse he seemed confused because his hide wasn't there. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seemed like he was maybe not sure about eating it in the open? He hovered over it, rubbed his head on it, and even grabbed it a few times with his mouth but never swallows it.. The mouse was an adult mouse , prob 18-20 grams and he weighs 300 grams.. The breeder was feeding him adult mice or rat pups before I got him

[Zincubus]

I have 22 snakes and all readily devour FT so I can't speak on LIVE feeding - it's just not acceptable over here in the UK .

If one ever refuses which is rare , I normally leave until the next feeding time tbh

A few of my Royals will ONLY strike from within their hides , drag it in and eat in there as well .

[MadTurtle]

I will try with a F/T tomorrow since I have some already.. I will try to do exactly what you said .. Dangle in front of his hide as well.. I would much rather get him eating F/T.. Thank you for your advice... I'll update when I try it

[Zincubus]

Well good luck !!

If it's unsuccessful the first time , just reheat with a hairdryer and offer immediately , repeat a few times .
If there is no reaction just leave a week or so . You can always go back to trying LIVE if you feel it's just not working . ...

[Lizardlicks]

it's just not acceptable over here in the UK .

You say that, and yet I've found more than a few UK breeders that just... breed their own rats for live feeders.

They way I get my kids to switch is, I offer what ever they were eating before I got them. If that means live, then it's live. If F/T mice, then F/T mice. Once they GET EATING and settle into a pattern I wait until they hit a shed cycle, skip feeding for that week, then offer whatever it is I WANT them eating the next week. They're usually hungry enough from the pattern break that they want to get right back into eating. I have yet to have one refuse this method, but establishing a consistent routine before hand is key.

[Zincubus]

You say that, and yet I've found more than a few UK breeders that just... breed their own rats for live feeders.

They way I get my kids to switch is, I offer what ever they were eating before I got them. If that means live, then it's live. If F/T mice, then F/T mice. Once they GET EATING and settle into a pattern I wait until they hit a shed cycle, skip feeding for that week, then offer whatever it is I WANT them eating the next week. They're usually hungry enough from the pattern break that they want to get right back into eating. I have yet to have one refuse this method, but establishing a consistent routine before hand is key.

Yeah , I'd agree with the theory of that .

As regards LIVE feeding in the UK ... I also know of a few who feed the odd LIVE one , usually to snakes they've bought or taken in that would only eat LIVE for whatever reason . I'd say for every LIVE mouse there's a THOUSAND thawed frozen though ...

It's clearly a cultural thing as we've said many times .

Look I'm no genius snake keeper but I've never had a snake who wouldn't eat thawed frozen so that's where I'm coming from ....


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